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Sakura Navy
The Sakura Navy Hand Camera (さくらネビー手提暗函) or Navy Hand Camera (ネビー手提暗函) The phrase tesage anbako (手提暗函) is rendered as "Hand Camera" in the Konishi catalogue dated December 1911. In modern sources, it is often translated as "Portable Camera" and the camera is sometimes called "Navy Portable". The Japanese word anbako literally means "dark box"; it was modeled after "camera obscura" and was used for cameras until around the 1910s. is a magazine camera sold by Konishi (predecessor of Konica) in the 1900s and early 1910s. Origin One source says that the Navy was an imported camera introduced in June 1905 and made by A. C. Jackson in the UK. This particular company was actually absorbed into Houghton in March 1904, and the attribution is certainly wrong. The Navy is nonetheless very similar to some of the Houghtons Klito magazine camera models. It is extremely difficult to know for sure if the camera was a Japanese model inspired by the Klito or an imported one. The only original document observed so far does not explicitly state that the Navy was made in Konishi's manufacturing facilities. December 1911 catalogue by Konishi Honten, p.25. The naming of the products sold by Konishi perhaps gives a hint of the answer: it seems that all the imported cameras were sold under their original brand name and none was rebadged, whereas all the cameras sold under a local brand name were made in Japan. This is inferred from the contents of the December 1911 catalogue by Konishi Honten. The case of the Midg is dubious but probably follows the general rule. This would mean that the Navy, whose brand name is not found in the West, was a local copy of the British camera. Description The Navy is known by a single illustration, found in an original catalogue and reproduced elsewhere. December 1911 catalogue by Konishi Honten, p.25. The document reproduced in this page at R. Konishi Rokuoh-sha is similar. The same illustration is reproduced in Sakai, p.17 of no.10, and in this other page of the same website. The camera has the shape of a vertically elongated box, and contains twelve plates in format (8×10.5cm). Twelve plates in format: December 1911 catalogue by Konishi Honten, p.25. The control of the changing mechanism is visible above the camera, under the top handle. The lens is slightly offset upwards, and there are two brilliant finders with round windows near the top of the front plate. Two knobs are visible, one on the right of the lens (as seen from the front) and another at the bottom right. The release lever is on the photographer's right, near the bottom. An L-shaped window is visible next to the upper brilliant finder, and a T-shaped window next to the other finder; these certainly correspond to the bubble levels. Bubble level or levels: December 1911 catalogue by Konishi Honten, p.25 (水平器ありて). The shutter gives Time and Instant exposures with speeds variable from 1s to 1/100. December 1911 catalogue by Konishi Honten, p.25 (定時及瞬間撮影をせられ、シャッターは一秒より百分の一秒迄の緩急あり). Sakai, p.17 of no.10, mentions T, B, 1–100 speeds. It seems that the speeds are set by the knob at the bottom right of the front plate. The lens features are unknown. Commercial life The chronology of Konica's official history book says that the Navy was released in January 1907, and the date of 1907 is generally retained by other sources. January 1907: chronology from the official company history Shashin to tomo ni hyaku-nen, reproduced in Tanaka, p.94 of no.10. The date is simply given as 1907 in Sakai, p.17 of the same magazine, and in the chronology at R. Konishi Rokuoh-sha. However the source cited above which assimilates the Navy to an imported camera says June 1905. Lewis, p.18. The camera was likely called "Sakura Navy" at the beginning, by analogy with the Sakura Army, but this is not confirmed by any original document seen so far. The name "Sakura Navy" is used in Sakai, p.17 of no.10, but not in the other sources. The December 1911 catalogue lists the model as the "Navy Hand Camera", and gives the price of . December 1911 catalogue by Konishi Honten, p.25. The Navy is presented as an "educational hand camera", along with the cheaper Champion and Cherry magazine cameras. "Educational hand camera": 教育用手提暗函. Notes Bibliography * Konishi Honten. Saishin Shashin Kikai Mokuroku (最新写真器械目録, Latest catalogue of photographic apparatus). Published on December 18, 1911. Recent reprint. * P.18. * Sakai Shūichi (酒井修一). "Konica history 2. Meiji 36-nen – 40-nen." (Konica history 2. 明治36年–40年. From Meiji year 36 (1903) to Meiji year 40 (1907).). Pp.16–23. * Tanaka Yoshirō (田中芳郎). "Meiji–Taishō jidai no Konishi Honten no kamera wo shiru tame no hon" (明治・大正時代の小西本店のカメラを知るための本, Books about the Konishi Honten cameras of the Meiji and Taishō eras). Pp.92–4. Links In Japanese: * Pages of the R. Konishi Rokuoh-sha website: ** Sakura Navy ** Sakura Navy in the camera list Category: Japanese 8x10.5 Category: Japanese box Category: Magazine camera Category: Konica Category: S Navy Category: 1906-1910